Aphrodite Salas

Biography

Aphrodite Salas is a journalist and professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where her research focuses on mobile journalism, collaborative journalism with Indigenous communities and more specifically, the decolonization of journalism education. She is also part of the management team of Volt-age, a multi-year 123-million dollar electrification research project based at Concordia University. Her leadership role on Volt-age is centred on public policy and stakeholder engagement.

Her most recent work created exclusively with mobile journalism is called “Arctic Shift to Clean Energy.” The multimedia project shares a story of Inuit climate leadership and was screened at both the UN Climate Conference COP 27 and the UN Biodiversity Conference COP 15 alongside Indigenous partners. Aphrodite is also a research partner of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where she has lectured at the Thessaloniki International Media Summer Academy since 2020. 

A veteran journalist with decades of experience in news and feature reporting, Aphrodite started out producing short documentaries at the Reuters East Africa bureau in Nairobi. She subsequently spent most of her on-air career at CTV, Canada's largest privately owned network. Aphrodite has worked as a national correspondent, anchor, video journalist and assignment editor in small, medium, large and national markets and her industry honours include six RTDNA awards for excellence in news reporting. 

*on sabbatical for the academic year 2024-2025*

Summer 2024
SUST 601 - Perspectives on Sustainability

Previous Courses
JOUR 536 - Advanced Video Journalism 
JOUR 527 - Elements of Lighting for Visual Journalism
JOUR 511 - Introduction to Multimedia
JOUR 325 - Social Media & Mobile Reporting
JOUR 209 - Intermediate Multimedia
JOUR 207 - Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (video)
JOUR 207 - Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (photo)
JOUR 200 - Introduction to Broadcast Journalism

Political Science
POLI 368 - Media, Technology and Politics
POLI 498 - Advanced Topics: Media and Public Policy

My research focuses on constructive, collaborative journalism, the role journalism schools can play in reconciliation and various types of information disorder.  My projects are based in Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek-Gull Bay First Nation and the Inuit community of Inukjuak and involve teams of students working collaboratively to document and share stories of Indigenous leadership and climate action. At the root of my work is the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and Call to Action 86, which focuses on journalism education. Through both its methodology and subject matter, my research seeks to bring together a diverse team of partners to produce journalism that is more inclusive. By conducting research in this way, I also aim to explore the role of non-Indigenous journalists in the ongoing reconciliation between the media and Indigenous peoples in Canada. My projects are supported by the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canada First Excellence Fund (Volt-Age).

Interdisciplinary Research Projects
For the period of 2023-2025, I am co-investigator on a New Frontiers in Research Fund grant called The Sub-measurable is Not Unreal: Modeling and Communication of the Effect of COVID-19 on the Brain. Principal Investigators Dr. Claudine Gauthier (Department of Physics) and Dr. Ré Mansbach (Department of Physics) are seeking to investigate neurological changes associated with long COVID. Alongside co-investigator VK Preston (Department of History), we are documenting the process of research in order to explore how connecting people through visual journalism and art may deepen their understanding of complex scientific and medical issues. For more on this project, click here.

I am also co-investigator for the period 2020-2025 on the SSHRC Partnership Grant-funded project: The SpokenWeb: Conceiving and Creating a Nationally Networked Archive of Literary Recordings for Research and Teaching, with Principal Investigator Dr. Jason Camlot (Professor of English and Concordia University Research Chair (Tier I) in Literature and Sound Studies. As co-investigator, I provide support and supervision to students working on project communication, social media management and external media pitches. 

Selected research-creation publications 

Salas, A., *Ann, V., *Caruso-Moro, L., *Quash, K., (2022, November 3). Arctic Shift to Clean Energy. Retrieved from: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/inukjuak. 

Multimedia publication including two documentaries, two text pieces, a photo gallery, video interviews with Indigenous Clean Energy collaborators and sidebar context pieces. *student co-authors

Salas, A., *Ann, V., *Beauchamp, L., *Caruso-Moro, L., Luft, A., *Ramnanan, M. & *Thomas, K., (2019, May 6). From Shore to Sky: a Reconciliation Story.

Retrieved from: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/from-shore-to-sky-a-reconciliation-story. Multimedia publication including a short documentary, digital story map, photo galleries, video capsules and text. *student co-authors

Selected peer-reviewed and other publications 

Salas, A. (2023). “Getting their mojo back: A solutions approach for first-year journalism students.” Facts and Frictions: Emerging Debates, Pedagogies and Practices in Contemporary Journalism 3(1), 66-69. http://doi:10.22215/ff/v3.i1.06 

Dyer, J., Manning, K., Temple Newhook, J., Khosa, S., Salas, A., Davis, A., James, J., Pickett, S., & Pullen Sansfacon, A. (2023). “Media discourse in Canada on trans youth and parent advocacy.” Feminist Media Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2023.2279927            

Salas, A. (2020, July 16). What role can journalism schools play in reconciliation? Policy Options. 

Salas, A. & *Stevens, S. (2021). “Journalism education and Call to Action 86: Exploring conciliatory and collaborative methods of research-creation with Indigenous communities.” Facts & Frictions: Emerging Debates, Pedagogies and Practices in Contemporary Journalism 1 (1) 55-63. 63. http://doi.org/10.22215/ff/v1.i1.04 *student co-author

Selected Conferences

Salas, A. (April 2024). "How journalists tell big stories with smartphones." International Journalism Festival. Perugia, Italy.

Salas, A. (July 2023). "From Extractive to Collaborative Journalism: Building back from Trust Disorder." Global Media and Culture Conference. Thessaloniki, Greece. 

Salas, A. (May 2022). "Indigenous and Decolonial Epistemologies: Educational Partnerships and Call to Action 86." Canadian Communications Association Conference. Virtual Event. 

Salas, A. (April 2022). "TRC Call to Action 86, media and partnerships." Renewables in Remote Communities: UNDRIP and Indigenous rights for clean energy projects. Whitehorse, Canada. 

Salas, A. (October 2021). "From Fatigue to Academic Investment: Helping Students Re-Engage with Their Studies." Broadcast Education Association, "On-Location" Conference. Virtual Event. 

Salas, A. (August 2021). "Raising Awareness: Teaching Cultural Competencies, Diversity and Inclusion in the J-School Classroom." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Conference. Virtual Event.

Salas, A. (April 2021). "The Global Framing of the American Presidency - Post Trump." Broadcast Education Association Conference. Virtual Event.

Salas, A. (August 2020). "How the U.S. Presidential Election is Framed Around the World." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Conference, Virtual Event. 

Salas, A. (April 2020). "Documenting Indigenous Clean Energy Initiatives Through Mobile Journalism: A Case Study in Canada's North." Broadcast Education Association Conference, virtual event. Panel title: "Media, Culture and Community: Enabling Voices on the Margins." Virtual Event.

Salas, A. (February 2020). "How Can Canadian News Organizations Better Engage with and Serve Indigenous Audiences?" Institute for Investigative Journalism, Montreal.

Salas, A. (August 2019). "How the U.S. Looks to the World in the Age of Trump." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Toronto.

Salas, A. (July 2019). "Mobile Journalism: A Case Study in Northern Canada." 5th World Journalism Education Congress, Paris, France.  

Salas, A. (June 2019). "An Experiential Study on Teaching Remote Mobile Journalism (MOJO)." Canadian Communication Association Conference, Vancouver. 

Selected Screenings

United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP15 (December 2022) Montreal, Canada. Canada Pavilion Featured Event. Panel and screening of Innavik: Leading the way to a clean energy future. Audience: UN member delegates, COP15 attendees and open livestream. YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT2ZbjRh5Ek

United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP27 (November 2022) Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Indigenous Clean Energy Connection Event and Canada Pavilion Featured Event. Screenings of Innavik: Leading the way to a clean energy future and from shore to sky: a reconciliation story. Audience: UN member delegates and COP27 attendees.

World Premiere of Innavik: Leading the way to a clean energy future and Simeonie Nalukturuk, in his own words (November 2022) Inukjuak, Nunavik. Screening and discussion at Uquutaq High School in Inukjuak. Audience: Secondary 3, 4 and 5 students, school faculty and staff, community leaders. 

Banff Forum Policy Conference (November 2019) Mont Tremblant, Canada. Screening of "from shore to sky: a reconciliation story" to an audience of approximately 250 Canadian policy makers and experts. 

Selected Invited Talks

Salas, A. (July 2022). "Protecting and strengthening journalism in an era of disinformation." Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability: Post-election working conference on parliament, elections and media. Belgrade, Serbia.

Salas, A. (March 2022). "Fighting the Digital Pandemic of Misinformation: A Canadian Perspective." Center for European Perspectives: Conference on Disinformation in the Western Balkans. Ljubljana, Slovenia.